ENSEMBLE WAKS: SOFIAS REISEN / TACHELES 2026

Inge Mandos - vocals
Hans-Christian Jaenicke - violin
Klemens Kaatz - piano, accordion
Voices from wax rolls

The Soviet Jewish ethnomusicologist Sofia Magid (1892-1954) knew that she had little time left. The traditional Yiddish music culture was in danger of being wiped out by Stalinism.
Equipped with phonographs and recordable wax cylinders, she embarked on several adventurous journeys to the people in the shtetls of the Ukraine. There she collected and archived the voices of Yiddish singers. These songs were often about everyday life and love. During her travels, however, Sofia increasingly experienced the political conditions that were becoming more and more threatening for the Jews and their culture: Civil war, pogroms, hunger - the songs also tell of this.
Sofia's tireless travels and her project to save Yiddish culture impressed and inspired Inge Mandos and her ensemble WAKS. The production SOFIAS REISEN combines the original recordings from the 1930s with modern arrangements, video projections and texts from a fictitious travel diary to create a moving concert evening - and brings the project started by Sofia into the present day.
www.waks.info

Soviet-Jewish music ethnologist Sofia Magid (1892-1954) knew that she had little time left. The traditional Yiddish music culture was in danger of being wiped out by Stalinism.
Equipped with phonographs and recording wax cylinders, she set out on several adventurous journeys to visit the people in the shtetls of Ukraine. There she collected and archived the voices of Yiddish singers. These songs often dealt with everyday life and love. However, during her travels, Sofia witnessed the political conditions that were becoming increasingly threatening to Jews and their culture: civil war, pogroms, hunger - the songs also tell of these things.
Sofia's tireless travels and her project to save Yiddish culture impressed and inspired Inge Mandos and her ensemble WAKS. The production SOFIAS REISEN combines original recordings from the 1930s with modern arrangements, video projections, and texts from a fictional travel diary to create a moving concert evening-bringing the project Sofia started into our time.